Jeb Bush's center-right vision gets muted CPAC response

3/15/13 9:45 PM EDT

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush delivered a center-right vision for the future of the Republican Party at CPAC on Friday night, urging the party to be more inclusive and asserting his belief in the future of America’s economy.

“Never again can the Republican Party simply write off entire segments of our society because we assume our principles have limited appeal,” he said. “They have broad appeal. We need to be larger than that.”

Bush said that in order to stop alienating potential supporters who might agree with the GOP’s core principles, the party needs to make them feel welcome.

“Many voters are simply unwilling to choose our candidates because those voters feel unloved, unwanted and unwelcome in our party,” he said.

He stayed away from social issues and only mentioned immigration — the subject of his recently released book — in the context of hope that current reform efforts in Congress are successful.

The crowd's response to Bush's speech was fairly muted and lacked the energy of earlier CPAC sessions. He received a standing ovation at the end but otherwise got very little applause and cheering.

Despite his presence here tonight at CPAC’s Ronald Reagan Dinner and the fact that he’s said he would consider a 2016 presidential bid, he was not included on the ballot for CPAC’s presidential straw poll.

He said that the party must represent not just rare top-level successes in the country, but also recognize how difficult upward mobility is for certain sections of the population.

“Here’s reality: if you’re fortunate enough to count yourself among the privileged, the rest of the nation is drowning,” he said. “In our country today, if you’re born poor, if your parents didn’t go to college, if you don’t know your father, if English isn’t spoken at home, then the odds are stacked against you.”

He also spoke about his travels to developing economies around the world and how they compare to the economic pessimism here in the United States.

“Americans have the sense that our economy is fragile, its rewards are unfairly tilted toward the few, and that the greatest prosperity in this century will be enjoyed by other people in other lands and not by our own children,” he said. “But tonight I’m here to tell you that this conclusion is 100 percent wrong.”

Bush spoke about American technological advances — 3D printers, robotic cars and the “Jeopardy” robot Watson — as examples of the ways America is greater than its international competitors that could be hurt if the federal government doesn’t rein in spending.

“There is a very dark cloud on the horizon. All of these advantages are at risk if the federal government continues on its arc of irresponsibility,” he said. “Our federal spending addiction and a lackluster system of public education are the two greatest impediments to achieving our potential in this century.”

Bush also noted that his father, former President George H.W. Bush, is home from the hospital after his recent health scare.

“He’s back at home and doing well,” he said. “His only problem now is that his current care provider won’t be pampering him like the nurses in the hospital. Her name is Barbara Bush and she is tough.”